Arbitrate or Die (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 2)

by Sarah Noffke

  “Ainsley, you’re fired,” Hiker said plainly, dropping the knife with the pat of butter and sticking the dry toast in his mouth.

  “Very well, sir,” she said, curtsying. “I did need a day off. It’s been about four hundred years, so I’m a little overdue.”

  “It’s not a day off,” Hiker argued. “You’re fired. For good. We no longer need your help.”

  “Of course, sir,” Ainsley replied, taking off her apron, wadding it up, and throwing it on the table. “I’ll appreciate references when I start looking for work, of course.”

  “We are a secret society of dragonriders,” Hiker stated. “I can’t give you references.”

  Mama Jamba didn’t seem to notice the conversation going on as she polished off yet another plate of pancakes.

  “I understand, sir.” Ainsley looked around the dining hall fondly. “Well, if you all need anything, I’ll be staying at the Inn in town,” she said before striding toward the exit.

  “We won’t need anything,” Hiker said, a fire burning in his eyes.

  “I could use more pancakes,” Mama Jamba chirped, looking up suddenly.

  “And I can’t find my sword,” Wilder added.

  Ainsley paused in the doorway and gave Hiker a challenging expression.

  He glanced at Mama Jamba. “You’ve had enough pancakes.” His gaze drifted to Wilder. “Your sword will turn up. It always does.”

  Evan strode into the dining hall, swerving around Ainsley. “Hey, why is your office chained shut, sir?” he asked Hiker.

  The Viking dropped his toast and pinned both his hands on the table. “Because I’m firing a nuisance who is in cahoots with this bloody Castle.”

  “You said cahoots,” Evan quipped with a snicker, grabbing several strips of bacon with his bare hands.

  Sophia gave him a punishing look.

  He coughed. “Oh, I get that my lack of manners is once again an issue for you. In my defense, I’m still injured. Give me a break, Soph.”

  She shook her head. He was looking recovered after the mission to the Lucidite’s Institute to get the dragon eggs. She might actually like and respect him after their assignment together, but she wasn’t going to tell him that, ever. No, Evan was like the little brother that she never had…who was actually older than her by one-hundred years.

  Ainsley glanced up the stairs that leveled out next to Hiker’s study. “Oh, that’s a large lock. Good luck with that one, sir. Well, if there isn’t anything else, I’ll just be off.”

  “Pancakes, please,” Mama Jamba said again, sliding her empty plate away and looking pleasantly around the table.

  Hiker huffed. “Fine. You’re not fired. But no more sass today. I’m not in the mood.”

  “Which is different from—” Ainsley straightened. “Never mind, sir. Of course, sir. I’ll be on my best behavior. And I’ll just buzz off and get those pancakes, Mama Jamba.”

  There was a loud noise outside the dining hall. Ainsley glanced up before giving Hiker a smile. “Looks like you can get back in your office again, sir. Cheers.”

  He growled. “And when will it put it back the way it was with my books and all?”

  No one said anything. Mama Jamba simply looked around at the others, smiling sweetly.

  Ainsley returned with another plate of pancakes, setting them down in front of Mother Nature. “The Castle says that it will fix your office soon.”

  “When?” Hiker asked.

  Ainsley lifted her chin, listening. “Within the century.”

  He picked up his toast and tore a bite off, chewing angrily. “How can you eat like that with everything going on?” he asked Mama Jamba.

  The picture of poise, she wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin before smiling at him. “These are simply delicious pancakes. That’s how.”

  “Those eggs in the Cave are the last of the dragons,” he argued. “We’ll soon be extinct. And you’re over there having a pancake party.”

  Mama Jamba laughed. “Oh, no. You must have more than one person eating pancakes for that. And I’m the only one since you’ve dictated that your riders eat protein.”

  Sophia looked down at her untouched plate.

  “Hiker, I see you’ve sobered up if you’re back to worrying about the eggs,” Ainsley said, returning with another plate of pancakes. “These are for anyone who wants to join Mama Jamba’s pancake party.”

  Evan stuck a fork in the top two pancakes before the plate had even touched the surface of the table. “That would be me! Yonk!”

  “I was sober last night,” Hiker argued. “And what did I say about the sass?”

  “Oh, you were sober last night? That’s why you allowed me to braid your hair while you were wearing a suit from the 1970s?” Mama Jamba asked.

  “That was me giving up, but it didn’t last for long, and thankfully, the Castle gave me back my clothes,” Hiker said.

  “Because we were all tired of seeing your bare chest in those sheet robes,” Ainsley said, shaking her head.

  “And,” Hiker continued, “now our present reality is setting in. We’ve got to take action or risk losing it all.”

  “I agree,” Mama Jamba said, licking her lips before taking another bite.

  “Why aren’t you taking this more seriously? We are about to be erased!” he questioned.

  She shrugged. “I have no idea what it’s like to have something you love more than anything waste away until it’s close to dying.”

  “Oh, fine, you’re talking about the Earth,” Hiker replied. “I get it.”

  Mama Jamba pushed her plate away. “I know that this isn’t easy for you, Hiker. You are going back and forth between acceptance and denial. Frustration and perseverance. Optimism and pessimism. That’s normal. But the fact of the matter is, the Earth is endangered and along with that, the dragonriders. This can’t be a surprise to you. The two have always been intimately intertwined.”

  “So it’s over then?” he asked her.

  She shook her head. “No, it never is. Not until the curtain closes, and we’re not even to the final act yet.”

  Hiker’s eyes fell to his piece of toast.

  “Look, my dear,” Mama Jamba continued. “Recruit the lone dragonriders. Have your newest rider finish her training.” She indicated Sophia. “And have the world accept you as adjudicators. Then you’ll go after Thad Reinhart. That’s the right plan. I just know it.”

  “And if I do all that then the Dragon Elite will be saved?” he asked, hope in his voice. “And we will save the Earth?”

  Mama Jamba pushed away from the table, stretching to a standing position. “Oh, heavens. I have no clue. But if you fail, at least you’ll know you did everything you could.”

  The woman who was both unassuming and all-powerful waved to the others before heading for the entryway, whistling Blue Suede Shoes.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Sophia and Wilder had been on the Expanse for less than a minute, about to start sparring practice, when Quiet rushed over wildly waving his arms.

  “What is it?” Sophia asked, meeting him halfway, the gnome’s short legs making his progress slow, even though he was running as she’d never seen him do before.

  His mouth was moving fast, but she couldn’t make out any of his words.

  Sophia spun to face Wilder, a frantic look on her face that said, “Do you know what he’s saying?”

  He seemed to understand her expression and shook his head before sliding to a kneeling position in front of the gnome. “Talk to us, Quiet. What’s going on?”

  Again, the groundskeeper spoke rapidly, but none of his words were audible.

  Sophia leaned close to his mouth with her ear, straining to understand the rushed whispers. She made out only one word, and it was enough to make her pulse quicken.

  Straightening, she turned to Wilder, her look making his eyes widen with horror.

  “What did you hear?” he asked her.

  “Mahkah,” she answered just as something
at the front of the Castle caught her attention.

  Hiker had bolted out the front door but halted immediately. His eyes flicked to the three on the Expanse and then to the sky overhead.

  Sophia followed his gaze, and only then did she see it. Tumbling through the Barrier end over end were Mahkah and Tala. Mahkah was attached to his dragon, but it appeared that they would crash into the ground, both seemingly unconscious.

  Lunis, Sophia called telepathically to her dragon.

  Yes, he replied instantly.

  Get out here, she said, sending him the visual.

  Lunis exploded a second later from the Cave, Bell and Simi behind him. They were too far away, though, and Mahkah and Tala were tumbling fast.

  And then they froze in midair like they were suspended from invisible ropes.

  Sophia spun to face Hiker, but he wasn’t the one responsible for the incredible display of magic holding the dragon and rider in the air. The leader of the Dragon Elite was hurrying in their direction, his eyes screwed up in confusion.

  Her gaze swiveled, and Sophia knew exactly who was responsible for saving the two from crashing to the earth.

  Quiet had his squatty hand in the air. His mouth was still moving fast, but this time, he was whispering a spell. Sophia recognized the focus. It was different from when he’d been trying to frantically communicate a message. Now he was gathering his power, sending it to keep the dragon and rider from falling. The effort was costing him greatly. Sweat poured from his brow, and his hand was beginning to shake.

  “You can do it,” Wilder encouraged, noticing the same thing as Sophia.

  The dragon and rider dropped several yards rapidly before freezing in the sky once more. The gnome couldn’t keep this up for long, and if Sophia tried to help, she could undo his spell entirely. She wasn’t even sure if she could achieve what he was doing. Holding two magical creatures in the air was a feat that she hadn’t ever attempted.

  “Steady now,” Hiker stated firmly, arriving beside the gnome. “Hold them there.”

  Sophia didn’t know why Quiet didn’t simply use his magic to lower them safely to the ground. She guessed that would be too risky, possibly making them crash.

  “Only another few seconds,” Hiker said, his tone carrying great strength.

  It was only a few more seconds before the dragons arrived around the unconscious pair, their wings beating to keep them in place as they disentangled the two. Bell picked up Mahkah with her front legs, grasping him by the shoulders. Lunis and Simi each took hold of Tala on either side and carried the unconscious dragon to the Cave as Bell descended with Mahkah. It wasn’t until she’d laid him on the ground at their feet that Sophia considered he might be dead. That hadn’t occurred to her before because of Hiker’s demeanor. He was worried, yet not frantic. He’d had a quiet knowing about him.

  The dragonrider appeared surprisingly unscathed, with no marks on his body. This observation seemed to perplex Hiker as well.

  “Take him to the Castle,” he ordered Bell.

  She picked him up again and flew low, speeding for the Castle.

  “Sir?” Sophia asked, hurrying after Hiker, who was rushing for the Castle.

  “Stay here,” he ordered.

  She halted, confused. “But…”

  He turned and gave her a stern expression. “Stay here. We don’t know what is wrong with him or whether it can spread. You two train. I will give you an update when I have it.”

  Slowly Sophia nodded, which seemed to make Hiker relax.

  He let out a tense breath and sped for the Castle, Quiet scurrying to keep up.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  “He will be okay,” Wilder offered thoughtfully.

  Sophia shook her head. “We don’t know that. We don’t even know what’s wrong with him. Or Tala.”

  Wilder nodded. “They went to investigate that facility of Thad Reinhart’s. The Castle will know what to do. Mahkah did the right thing, returning here. It’s the only option when a dragonrider is on their last legs.”

  “So, the Castle can always save us?” Sophia asked.

  He let out a breath, tilting his head back and forth. “I don’t want to say that, but it is our best bet in the worst-case scenario.”

  “Because it is our home,” Sophia guessed.

  Wilder smiled. “There is a strange magic to the place we seek refuge. To a home.”

  “What do you think Hiker meant when he said he didn’t want it to spread?” Sophia asked. “Like Mahkah had been infected by a contagious disease.”

  “I don’t know,” Wilder answered. “I think he’s just being cautious. He knows more about Thad Reinhart than anyone else. Maybe he knows how the man works, something like puting a curse on Makah that’s infectious. Or, more likely, he’s just being Hiker. He doesn’t take chances. He never has.”

  “That’s true,” Sophia said, picking up Inexorabilis. She was doubtful that she could focus long enough to actually train.

  “So, your sword,” Wilder said, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

  He knew that she had to reverse the act that her mother had done to bond with Inexorabilis, which involved bringing back the Phantom, an evil unicorn who infected the world with evil.

  “Yeah, I have what I need from Papa Creola to do it,” she admitted.

  His eyes bulged. “You do? That was fast.”

  “Well, Mama Jamba helped me,” Sophia said, remembering waking up the morning after Mother Nature said that she’d give Papa Creola the essence of her magic in return for him reversing the death of the Phantom. That morning, Sophia found a small hourglass on her bedside table with instructions on what to do and where to go to re-kill the Phantom.

  “So now we just have to go and slay that impossible beast,” Wilder said, tension in his voice.

  “You don’t have to go,” she argued.

  “I promised you,” he said at once. “And of course, I’m going.”

  “But it’s more complicated than I thought originally.”

  He actually smiled. “I would have it no other way.”

  “Papa Creola requires that we harvest the Phantom’s horn,” Sophia explained.

  “Which is like trying to give a raging bull a pedicure,” Wilder said with a laugh.

  “Yeah, it should prove to be quite difficult,” Sophia agreed.

  “But it will be worth it,” Wilder said, enthusiasm in his voice.

  Sophia remembered what Subner had asked her to do, perking up. “Hey, do you think you can help me to find a weapon that’s somewhere in the Gullington?”

  “You mean the Castle?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was told it’s somewhere in the Gullington, so it could be in the Castle.”

  “I’ve met most weapons in the Castle,” Wilder stated. “What is this weapon?”

  She pulled out her phone and scrolled until she found the description that Subner had sent her. “Here, take a look at this and see if it sounds familiar.”

  She handed him her phone.

  He narrowed his eyes at the screen. “How do you manage to read on this?”

  “You get used to it,” she explained.

  “What’s wrong with paper?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “It’s for old men.”

  He bowed slightly. “I pride myself on being one, but not looking like one.”

  “And sometimes you still act like a teenager,” she teased.

  “Watch it, Soph,” he mock-threatened. “You want my help, don’t you?”

  “Take a look and tell me if you’re familiar with this weapon,” she said, indicating the phone.

  He glanced back at it, reading. After a moment, he asked, “How do you even get these types of missions? Oh, just go and reverse events that slaughtered an evil unicorn and harvest its horn. Then kill it again. Easy-peasy. And then go find a weapon I’ve never seen in the Castle because if I had, it would be on my back right now.”

  “Sooooo…you can help?” she as
ked.

  He sighed. “Really, you’re supposed to find Devon’s bow?”

  “Yeah,” she answered. “Was he a dragonrider?”

  “Yes, Sophia, he was a dragonrider,” he said, humoring her. “He also created the very first bow and arrows.”

  “Oh…”

  “Yeah, so this bow you’re looking for, it’s the first one ever,” Wilder stated.

  “Well, I need to find it,” Sophia said, thinking.

  “Yeah, now that I know it’s in the Gullington, I need to find it too.”

  She shook her head. “No, I have to give it to Subner, Papa Creola’s assistant. He helped me so that Father Time would agree to help me if Mother Nature helped him. And so far, everyone has complied. I need to make good on my promise to Subner.”

  Wilder gave her an amused expression. “You get that you’re ridiculous, right?”

  “I’m just different than you and have a tad bit more going on,” she argued.

  He laughed. “Fine. So you want my help tracking down Devon’s bow?”

  “Well, if you can spare the time,” she said meekly.

  “You mean before I go off to my death to re-kill the Phantom?” he asked.

  “Don’t you want to go out with a bang?” she asked.

  “Actually, I wanted to die in my sleep when I was a thousand years old,” he answered.

  “What if I let you use the bow when we face the Phantom?” she offered.

  He considered. “I thought you had to give it to Subner?”

  “I do,” she answered. “But I also have to give Father Time the horn. We might as well do it at the same time. And if that’s the case, someone might as well use the bow beforehand.”

  “You know, Sophia, I have rarely been so intrigued to go on what might be an endless mission, followed by an impossible mission, followed by my death.”

  “So you’ll do it?” she asked.

  “I’ll probably regret it, but yes. If you want help, then I’m your man.”